Fender well tire carrier



E. P. GUNDRY Chlo-Houd Oct. l0, 1933.

FENDER WELL TIRE CARRIER Filed April ll', 1'932 mounting of the or sparetire assem regular automobile equipment This invent ienne v @ansostar-ES PATENT, orties f n 1,929,779 v runnen WELL 'man CARRIER :EldonP. Gund1'y,Flint, Mich., assignorto Genleral Motors, Corporation,

poration oiglDelaware Detroit, Mich., a cor- Application April ll, i932.Serial No. 604,450 c creams; ici. cai- 29) ion relates to motor vehiclesand more particularly to an improvement in spare tire carriers. f

lt is an object of fender well type for n bly which vforms part of thethe invention to lprovide a the extra to enablequick and convenientreplacement lione of the tires in use becomes de other reason.

More specifically, vide a sturdy carrier ci neat .appearance and one inwhich the tire is partly received within a pocket or well inthe fenderandV is supported wholly and directly 'by the vehicle chassis or mainframe, the supportinvolving positioned above the well with a ldialspokes for engagement with the spokes being detachable mounting orremoval oi Y fiated due to puncture or the invention aims to proa' hubxedly series of ra'- the tire, one of to allow for the a tire', and thefender well, while being relieved ci tire weight serving in cooperationwithtlie support to prevent theft and unauthorized removal of thetirerandfur'- therm'ore, conserving space spare tire to be positionedvehicle just forward of the seat and back Additional objects comeapparent during and Vallowing Ythe iatv the sideof the door to thedrivers of the iront wheel.

and advantages will bethe course of ther following detailedspecification having` reference to the accompanying is a side elevationo drawing, whereinv Figure 1 f the iront portion of anautomobile; Figure2 is a vertical sectional View of the tire carrier and is takensubstantially on line 2-2 of Figure v elevation looking in on line 3--3of Figure 2.

3, and Figure 3 is-a detail vthe direction o the varrows Referringrtcthe drawing, 'the reference character 1 indicates an automobile bodyhaving a front door 2 and being supported upon a chassis frame 3 whichalso serves as a mounting for' the fender or mud guard According toconventional practice, the wheel 5 is shown with ademountable tire 6,includinga tire casing and a moun the event of damage ing rim therefor.'In

to the tire, itis the prac,-

rtice to remove the tire assembly from the wheel and replace it with aspare tire so that the repair may be takenV care of later and at theconvenience of the car owner.y

As a convenient way of carrying the spare tire it is here proposed tomount the extravtire assembly at the side of fender 4 and betwee doorPartly wi the vehicle just above the n the front wheel 5 and 4car th theidea of conserving cated centrally of l over the iront wheel' 5.k

space andto present a balanced appearance, the fender e* is Y,providedwitha pocket orwell 7, which receives and encloses the lowermost por-Vtion of the spare tire 6.y .i r l Directly above the' well and in .fixedspaced 60 relation therewith is a hub like flat plate 8 lothe openingpro-vided by the v annular tire and formed. Vas an intergral part of aninwardly anddownwardly extending tube or support 9, lwhose lower end issecured by nioans of a bracket li) tothe chassisframe meinber.y Thisbracket 10 may consist of a casting having a lateralprojectionterminating with split eye 11, which 'may' be contracted aboutrthe lower portion of' the tube 9. The tube 9' isthus 70. rigidlyanchored to the-chassis frame, the split ';v eye affording a certainYamount 'of initial vertical adjustment. As shown in the drawingthebracket is preferably'located beneath the fender 1` apron so as to beconcealed from view. 'To fur 75 ther enhance the general appearance ofthe support, use may be-made of the escutcheon or cole lar i2surrounding the tube adjacent the opening in the apron through which thetube projects.

InA the fiat plate vory vertical flange 8 at*v the 80 outer end of thetuberi) is shown a series or" three elongated slots '13 extending in a,direction'geni slots kand adjustable back and forth therein, are 35 anumber of mounting studs 14,' by which is adjustably secured to theplate 8, a-supporting member l5 havinga pair of radial spokes lor forks16 extending upwardly therefrom. The b outer ends of the two forks maybe formed of Q Q substantially channel shape to receive the inside 'i1'/ of the tire at the upper portion thereof. By means o1 the pin andslot connection 13-14 the position of the supporting spokes 16 may beadjusted with reference to the tire receiving well "I to accommodatetires of various sizes. The ad- 'M' justment for` av given size tirepreferably is so made that the weight ofV the tire is taken eni tirelyby the supporting `arms with the tire out of contact with the Well. Thisarrangement not only relieves the fender from strain, but also precludesCharing and wear of the tire tread.

' To removably secure the tire in place, use may be made 'of thedownwardly extending retainer Vor'spoke l-detachably connected at thehub por- 195 stud 22, inasmuch as the mation may be afforded in themanner shown in the drawing where the spoke has an outwardly extendinglug on one side and an adjustable stud 18 at its opposite side. Inaddition to the fact that the adjustable stud 1-8 takes care ofvariation in rim sizes, it is useful for insuring a rm mounting of thetire, inasmuchas the stud may be threaded in to push the tire downintotight seating engagement with each of the series of spokes. Theattachment connections at the hub for the removable spoke 17 may includea pair of'studs 1-9 riveted or otherwise secured to the plate 1-5 forprojection through alinedropenings in the enlarged inner end of theremovable spoke with the fastening nuts 20 removably threaded on theirouter ends.

As a precaution against theft, the removable Vspoke 17 may be providedat the hub with a hol-v low boss 21 which encloses the head of a stud 22.threadedly received within an opening in the plate member 15. Thishollow boss is closed by Va plug23 enclosing suitable mechanism forlocking it in place against -unauthorized removel. Withgthe lock housing23 in place, access cannot be had to the fastening stud 22 and thereforethe 'spoke 17 cannot be taken off the hub,

even though the nuts 20 are removed. Neither can the spoke be swungabout the axis of the locking stud firmly clamps thevparts 15 and 17Ytogether with the studs 19 projecting through the openings in theretainer spoke. .es it can best be seen in Figure 1, the top of wellprojects beyond the insideof the tireassembly and cooperates with thesupport in preventing surreptitious removal of thetire even though thestud 18 is removed and the tire casing deiiated.

I claim:

1. In a motor vehicle, a spare tire carrier, including a fender well toreceive a tire, a hub above the well in zied relation thereto, a pair ofupwardly extending supports carrie by the hub for engagement with theupper portion of the tire, an arm extending downwardly from the hub intoengagement adjacent the well with v theV lower portion of the tire, andmeans at the hub to detachably :mount thearin.

2. `In amotor vehicle, a spare tire carrier, including a fender Well toreceive a tire, a hub above the well in fixed relation thereto, a pairof upwardly extending supports carried bythe hub for engagement with theupper portion-of the tire, a detachable retainer arm projectingdownwardly from the hub and engageable adjacent the well with the lowerportion of the tire for cooperating with the well to hold the tire inplace, means for removably mounting the retainer arm on'the hub and alock associated with said attachment means to prevent unauthorizedmanipulation thereof. Y

3. In a motor vehicle, a spare tire carrier including a hub, anoutwardly extending spoke xedly carried by the hub and adapted to engageand support at its outer end the rim ofa spare tire, anotheroutwardlyextending spoke detachably mounted on the hub and adapted to engageatits outerend the spare tire rim in circumferentially spaced relation tothe Arst mentioned spoke to' removably secure the rim,

and a pocket xed relative to said hub and adapted to receive a portionof the tire adjacent the detachably mounted spoke for cooperationtherewith in retaining the'tire in' place.

4. Means to carry a spare tire, including a fender well to receive thetire, a supporting hub positioned above the Welland within the tire, a

series of outwardly extending spokes carried by y the hub for engagementwith the inner periphery of the tire at circumferentially spaced points,and means detachably mounting one of said spokes on the hub. i

5. In a motor vehicle,` a spare tire carrier' including a fender well toreceive thel tire, hub spaced above the Well and provided with a seriesof radiating arms for engagement'at their outer ends with the'tire, lockcontrolled means on said hub for detachably mounting one o said arms ina position in which .it projects downwardly toward the Wellfforcooperation therewith in retaining the tire in the well.

6. In a motor vehicle, a spare tire carrierv inr cluding a fender havinga well to receive a porii tion of the tire, a supporting hub spaced fromthe fender a sufficient distance to allow the passage of the portion ofthe tire'k received in the well and provided with outwardly extendingmeans` to engage and support the tire ently of the well, and lock.controlled means detachably mounted on the hub and projected into thespacebetween the hub and fender to restrict the size thereof andcooperate. with therender -V in precludingrremoval of the tire.

ELDON P. GUNDRY.

independ-

